Above All Else
by Foghorn-clj87
Summary: Life's all about what's truly important...  Caskett   Post S2 finale
1. Introspective

Disclaimer: If I owned "Castle" do you seriously think I'd still be living with my parents and asshole brother in a tiny little Australian suburb known primarily for its enormous drug problem instead of borrowing, cheating and stealing my way into the house next door to Nathan Fillion's… (with an unobstructed view of his bedroom from mine?) :P

A/N: I know nothing about the features, places and services in New York and in the surrounding states. Saying anything more than that would give it away…

#

Kate Beckett furiously blinked back the harsh fluorescent light that was invading her blurred vision. It was the same light that illuminated the meticulous notes spread across the whiteboard in front of her. Surrounded by the darkness of the late and unseasonably warm New York night, she cut a lone figure in the deserted police precinct. Her colleagues had left several hours before, unable to convince her to go home and get some sleep and well aware that their presence would only serve to irritate her while she closely scrutinised every aspect of their most recent case. A young woman who had embezzled millions of dollars from company pension funds had been suffocated with a pillow in her hotel room. With six million dollars hidden from the authorities and vengeful former employees out for blood it seemed that they were spoilt for choice when it came to suspects. Twenty in all who hated her enough to want her dead and who had no alibi for the night of the murder, including the victim's ex-husband and estranged sister.

And so here Beckett was, staring at her murder board, desperate to make the pieces fit together. The fact was she had hit a wall with the case days earlier but had refused to admit to herself, let alone anyone else. Because to admit that she was stuck meant entertaining another more unsettling thought. That Castle would be able to solve it.

But Beckett didn't want to think about him. The charismatic writer who had weaselled his way into her life and who, against her better judgement, she had developed romantic feelings for. Feelings that were shattered as she watched him walk out of the precinct arm-in-arm with his ex-wife on their way to enjoy an extended 3 month vacation at his home in the Hamptons. A vacation that was meant for her. And as much as she tried Beckett couldn't hide her tears of sadness and pain from her friends who stood behind the glass door of the break room watching the entire scene unfold. Her only saving grace was that they knew her well enough to know she wouldn't want to talk about it afterwards. They had left her alone to channel all of her energy into her work and being angry at him.

But she soon realised that it really wasn't him she was angry at. It was herself. Angry that she allowed herself to feel any feelings for him at all. Angry for not jumping at the opportunity when Castle had invited her. Angry for being jealous of Gina because she was there with him. And amidst all that anger, guilt, for not realising just how much her relationship with Tom had hurt him. She really had been completely blind to the idea that Castle had real feelings for her until Esposito had called her on it. And then when she ran the events of the last few weeks back in her mind Beckett was astounded and ashamed at how she missed all the signs. His long, sorrowful gazes, his quiet demeanour. All leading up to the startling bombshell he had dropped on her when he said that he wanted to take a break from their partnership. It was only then that Beckett truly understood just how much she cared for Castle. How much she truly enjoyed having him in her life every day. That all this time she had just been too afraid to admit it to herself. But by the time she realised that she couldn't deny her feelings any longer, it was too late. Now she had to face the real possibility that they would never work another case together again.

It was this sobering fact that forced Beckett to stop thinking about him and focus back on the case. But before she could, her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill, incessant ringing of her cell phone.

"Beckett." She answered sharply, her overwhelming fatigue significantly decreasing her tolerance for interruptions.

"Is this Detective Kate Beckett?" A male voice asked authoritatively.

"Yes." She acknowledged tentatively.

"You're a police officer with the NYPD?" He probed.

"A homicide detective. Who is this?" She demanded, not enjoying the sinking feeling that had begun to take hold in her stomach.

"My name is Doctor Jeremy Simon. I'm calling from the emergency department of the Princeton University Medical Centre. Are you familiar with a young woman named Alexis Castle?"

TBC…

Oh! I know! I'm cruel!

Show me compassion and review anyway :P

Foghorn_clj87 (aka Hot4Fillion)


	2. Emotion

A/N: For the record, I did do some research on New York before I started writing this story. But there are certain qualitative things that you can't research about.

… Sorry but the control freak, perfectionist in me would not let me continue without making that abundantly clear :P

Now that I've satisfied that neurotic part of me shall I get on with the story?

#

At hearing Alexis' name Beckett felt all the warmth drain from her body, replaced by a sickly and chilling numb feeling.

"What happened?" She asked tentatively, as if she was afraid of the answer she would get.

"Detective Beckett, I need to know your relationship to Miss Castle before I can answer any of your questions." The doctor persisted.

"Her father and I work together. Now tell me what happened." Beckett insisted sternly, slipping effortlessly into her intimidating Detective tone.

"Miss Castle was involved in the incident at Princeton University earlier this evening." Doctor Simon began.

"What incident?" Beckett asked in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry Detective I assumed you knew. The story has been all over the news." Beckett swivelled around and dashed across the bullpen and into the break room, just managing to hit the light switch on her way through. Picking up the room control she turned on the small television in the corner and immediately flipped over to the news channel. For a few moments she watched in silent horror at the live images of a raging fire engulfing the campus. Terrified people were fleeing from burning buildings, dodging falling debris as they found their way into the hands of waiting EMT's. Fire-fighters bravely worked to extinguish the blaze whilst curious onlookers strained forward at the police tape surrounding the area, watching in frightened fascination at the disaster that was unfolding before them.

"Is Alexis okay?" Beckett finally asked.

"Since your not her next of kin I really cannot give you any specifics on Miss Castle's injuries, however I will say that she is in a serious but stable condition…" The doctor explained. Beckett let out a small sigh of relief at the news as he continued,

"… The reason I called you Detective is because I was hoping you had a way to contact Miss Castle's parents. We found their phone numbers in her phone but both are currently unreachable."

"Well Castle is in the Hamptons at the moment…" Beckett trailed off, realising that she didn't know for certain where Meredith was.

"Well if you could get in contact with Mr Castle and advise him of the situation that would be helpful." The doctor suggested.

"Of course." Beckett agreed hastily.

"Thank you Detective." The doctor said before ending the call. Beckett dropped the cell phone away from her ear and closed her eyes, allowing herself just a few seconds to process everything she had just heard. But once the brief moment had passed she immediately jumped into action, hastily dialling Castle's number and raising her phone to her ear once more. But when his voicemail immediately picked up she abruptly hung up the phone in frustration. Beckett desperately ran through her options in her mind, but deep down she knew there was really only one thing she could do. Without a second thought, Beckett walked back out into bullpen and over to her desk, grabbing her purse before immediately heading towards the elevator…

… The details of her murder case all but forgotten.

#

It was just after 1am when Beckett found herself sitting in her car staring up at the front door of Castle's summer house. It was more modest than she had expected but still grand in its design. She had spent the better part of 15 minutes trying to find the right words to use when the time came. Because despite her experience giving terrible news to victim's loved ones, this wasn't just any loved one. This was Castle. Her friend. And a man who she knew from experience would do anything for his daughter, a daughter he loved more than anything else in the world.

Inhaling a nervous breath Beckett forced herself to step out of her car. Slowly making her way up the stone path to the front door, she paused briefly before knocking. She anxiously fiddled with the keys in her hand as she waited. But it was only a few moments before Castle appeared in the doorway dressed casually in jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Detective Beckett…" He greeted her in surprise, clearly not expecting her presence at his front door at such a late hour.

"I'm sorry if I woke you…" Beckett said nervously.

"No I was just working on the book." He reassured her, opening the door wider and stepping aside, he gestured for her to enter. Flashing him a tight smile Beckett stepped inside and found herself in an expansive foyer, her eyes scanning the warm cream coloured walls and classic wooden framing.

"So what brings you here at this time of the night? Did you miss me?" Castle enquired cheekily with his usual playful smile. But when he saw Beckett's eyes dropped to the floor and the sombre expression on her face, his smile fell away.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly. When Beckett finally raised her gaze to meet his she could see the worry in his eyes, and it made her stomach twist even tighter around itself.

"I tried to call you but your phone was off." She began tentatively, "There was an… emergency at Princeton and… Alexis was taken to the hospital." Beckett said, trying to break the news as gently as possible. But she could only watch helplessly as Castle's face turn ghostly white, tears forming in his eyes as his hands began to shake uncontrollably.

"But I just talked to the doctor and he says that she's in a stable condition." She added hurriedly, desperately hoping that it would give him some comfort. But Beckett doubted that he even heard her. Because before she had even finished her sentence he had disappeared into another room of the house only to return seconds later with his wallet, phone and keys in hand. Without a word he brushed past her, racing out the front door and barely giving Beckett enough time exit the house before throwing the door closed. Castle was already in the passenger seat when Beckett got into the car, speeding out of the driveway and heading back to the city.

TBC…

... Oh! I'm sorry! I was daydreaming about Nathan Fillion turning up at my front door wearing jeans and a black t-shirt… (fades off into blissful daydream again)

Review… pretty please? Pretty, pretty, pretty please?

Foghorn_clj87

Next chapter: Beckett and Castle arrive at the hospital, we find out what happened to Alexis and if your REALLY good, I might sneak in a Caskett moment :P


	3. Fear

A/N: Many, many apologies for keeping all of you waiting.

It's been a tumultuous and difficult few months for me. But with the help of my amazing friends Sam, Karissa and Jennifer I'm doing much better. And I can't thank them enough for their unwavering support.

And to all my readers, your loyalty and patience is very much appreciated.

_Previously…_

_"I tried to call you but your phone was off." She began tentatively, "There was an… emergency at Princeton and… Alexis was taken to the hospital." Beckett said, trying to break the news as gently as possible. But she could only watch helplessly as Castle's face turn ghostly white, tears forming in his eyes as his hands began to shake uncontrollably._

_"But I just talked to the doctor and he says that she's in a stable condition." She added hurriedly, desperately hoping that it would give him some comfort. But Beckett doubted that he even heard her. Because before she had even finished her sentence he had disappeared into another room of the house only to return seconds later with his wallet, phone and keys in hand. Without a word he brushed past her, racing out the front door and barely giving Beckett enough time exit the house before throwing the door closed. Castle was already in the passenger seat when Beckett got into the car, speeding out of the driveway and heading back to the city..._

_TBC...  
_

She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't been there to experience it herself. Three hours with Richard Castle and he hadn't spoken one word. Not one. Usually she would relish this opportunity to make a smart quip to put him in his place but this certainly wasn't the time or the place. She only had to glance over at the passenger side window to see the overwhelming fear in his eyes being reflected back at her. She had never seen him show so much real emotion before. Sure she had seen glimpses every now and then. When cases hit too close to home. When he talked about his family. But he was always quick to slide on the rich, playboy mask before revealing too much. But there was no mask that could cover this. And there would never be a mask efficient enough to cover the excruciating pain if he lost his daughter. Beckett knew that better than anyone.

It was another hour before they reached the hospital. As Beckett steered the car through the car park towards the emergency department, she groaned inwardly when she saw the sidewalks were choked with cameras and reporters eager to capture the latest breaking news. Beckett glanced over at Castle to gauge his reaction to the spectacle, but the only change to his stony expression was a tightening of his jaw. He was clearly angry that at a time when his daughter could be severely hurt he would have to fight through a throng of media to get to her. Pulling into a designated parking bay for law enforcement, Beckett took a deep breath before pushing open the car door and stepping out. Almost instantly she was swarmed by the media pack, camera flashes painfully flooding her vision whilst video cameras and microphones were shoved into her face accompanied by dozens voices yelling what Beckett could only assume were questions. She turned around and saw that Castle had his head down and was already pushing his way through the crowd towards the emergency department entrance. Beckett jumped into action, following the line of the car she edged her way through, her arms outstretched to push the crowd back.

"Everyone back away now!" She yelled , trying to be heard over the unruly mob. She eventually managed to make her way through the mob to where Castle was, tugging the badge off her belt she stepped in front of Castle and waved it at the section of the crowd blocking their path.

"Police! Every one back off right now!" She yelled, leading Castle through the crowd whilst attempting to ignore the questions that reporters were throwing at them.

_"Mr. Castle, why are you here?"_

_"Mr. Castle was someone you know involved in the fire?"_

_"Mr. Castle, were you and Detective Beckett together when you got the news?"_

_"Detective Beckett, is it true that Mr Castle proposed during a romantic carriage ride through Central Park last weekend?"  
_

Beckett and Castle eventually made it to the emergency department double doors, almost falling through them into the waiting area. After checking that they were mostly in one piece, they headed straight over to the window where a brunette nurse in her mid 40's was hastily juggling patient files.

"Excuse me, we're here to see Alexis Castle." Beckett told her. The nurse sighed in frustration, dragging her gaze upward before her eyes immediately fell on the NYPD badge Beckett was holding against the glass. But it's presence didn't seem to impress her at all.

"Are you family?" She asked sterny.

"I am." Castle finally spoke, "I'm her father." The nurse ran a critical eye across Castle's face, as if to intimidate him into recanting his claim. But when he didn't she simply turned to the computer on the desk beside her, punching at a few keys and waiting a moment before replying.

"Miss Castle's in Room 110. Through the doors, turn right, down the end of the corridor on the left. I'll let the doctor know you're here." She explained flatly, clearly not the first time she had given those directions and probably not the last. When the nurse pressed the button to open the doors to the ward, Castle practically sprinted through, Beckett almost needing to break into a jog to keep up to him.

After turning the corner, Castle raced down the corridor, hurriedly dodging nurses, doctors and stretchers until he reached Alexis' room. He paused briefly at the door, giving Beckett the opportunity to finally catch up with him. She watched him take a deep breath before tentatively pushing open the door. She followed him inside the dimly lit room, the sunshine of the early morning just peeking through the blinds. When he reached the foot of her bed, Castle stopped, a sharp breath entering his lungs at the sight before him. When Beckett approached, she couldn't help but have the same reaction to the sleeping figure in front of her. Alexis' small and fragile body covered in a generic hospital gown was dwarfed by the hospital bed surrounding her. The harsh white sheets covering the lower half of her body only served to highlight her pallored complexion. A rectangular white bandage sat just below her hairline above her left eye while a nasal cannula supplied a steady stream of oxygen to her lungs. An IV was attached to the back of her right hand whilst her left arm was resting in a dark blue sling. Castle stepped around the foot of the bed, his eyes never leaving his daughter's serene face as he carefully approached her side, pausing briefly before reaching out to take her delicate hand in his.

Beckett wasn't sure what she should do. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him in some way. But she was also afraid that she would be intruding on a very personal moment between a father and daughter. So she stayed where she was, watching from the other side of the bed as Castle gazed down at his daughter.

"You know, when Alexis was two she had to have an operation..." Castle spoke softly, his eyes never leaving her face,

"It took three hours… but sitting in that waiting room it felt like ten. I've never been more scared in my whole life, until right now." Castle paused, his voice catching in his throat as he worked to hold back the emotion that was overwhelming him.

"She's my whole world. I don't want to imagine my life without her." He admitted through the tears forming in his eyes.

In that moment Beckett's heart broke for her partner. Watching him experience the overwhelming fear of losing someone he loved. Without even realising it she found herself walking over to him, stopping close by his side before placing her hand on his shoulder.

"She's going to be fine Castle." She assured him.

The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts, before a male voice interrupted them,

"Excuse me, Mr Castle…" Both Castle and Beckett looked up to see a doctor standing on the other side of the bed.

"I'm Doctor Jeremy Simon." He introduced himself, the two men shaking hands.

"I'm Detective Beckett, we spoke on the phone." Beckett said to identify herself she dropped her hand from Castle's shoulder. Doctor Simon nodded in recognition,

"Yes, of course Detective." He acknowledged, shaking hands with her also.

"Let's step outside." He suggested, standing aside to allow Castle and Beckett to exit the room before doing so himself.

"What happened to my daughter?" Castle asked as soon as Doctor Simon closed the door behind them.

"From what the EMT's were able to ascertain, during the chaos of the evacuation Alexis accidently tripped and fell down a flight of stairs. Several students managed to carry her out of the building and over to the waiting ambulances. She suffered a serious concussion, a dislocated shoulder and fractured wrist as well as minor smoke inhalation. She's currently in a stable condition but we'd like to keep her here under observation for another 48 hours just to make sure." Doctor Simon detailed, pausing at the end to allow Castle to respond to what he had said. But Castle just stared back at the doctor as if he didn't understand what he had heard.

"Your daughter's going to be fine Mr Castle." Doctor Simon added with a reassuring smile. A sigh of relief practically burst from Castle's mouth, a grateful smile washing over his face.

"We're expecting her to sleep for another few hours and I'll be back soon to check how she's progressing." Doctor Simon explained. Castle reached out and shook the doctor's hand once more,

"Thank you so much." The doctor nodded and smiled politely before excusing himself and disappearing down the corridor. Turning towards Beckett, Castle breathed another sigh of relief, unconsciously running his hands through his hair as he did.

"See Castle? I told you Alexis was going to be fine." Beckett said with smile, happy herself at the news that the young woman was going to be okay.

"Yes you did." Castle admitted sheepishly, taking a few moments to take some much needed deep and calming breaths before something hit him.

"I need to call mother…" He realised, immediately reaching into his pocket to dig out his phone.

"No need…" Beckett interjected, "I called Martha on the way up to your house. She's catching the next flight back." Beckett clarified just before her own phone began to ring.

"Beckett." She answered, turning away and taking a few steps to gain some privacy. Beckett listened to the caller for a few moments,

"Yes sir. I'll be there as soon as I can." She promised, turning back towards Castle as she ended the call.

"The Captain?" He guessed.

"Yeah, he needs me back at the precinct." Beckett explained, her voice dropping off slightly in disappointment. She really didn't want to leave him alone at a time like this.

"It's okay. You should go."

"Well, tell Alexis I'll come and visit her soon." She requested, adding a quick smile of goodbye before turning to walk away.

"Kate." Castle called out to her. Beckett froze in surprise at his use of her first name. With her heart racing in her chest for reasons she didn't quite understand, Beckett once again turned back to face him. And before she knew what was happening Castle walked up and put his arms around her, pulling her into a warm and gentle hug. Beckett was too stunned to move.

"Thank you." He whispered quietly to her, his genuine and touching words flowing through her, allowing her to relax into his embrace, her arms finding their own way around him. It was only a few moments before they both withdrew from each other, but as Beckett finally made her way towards the exit she couldn't stop the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

TBC…

There it is. I hope it was worth the wait…

Ask anyone who knows me, as soon as I post this I'll be obsessively checking for reviews, my stomach churning with anxiety just waiting to find out what you think.

So PLEASE put me out of my misery and tell me what you thought by pressing the button and reviewing. .. Pretty please? Pretty, pretty, pretty please? :P

Foghorn_clj87


	4. Resolution

A/N: In the immortal words of Sheldon Cooper under the influence of valium… "I'm ba-aaack!" :P

And before you say, yes I know I've taken FOREVER to write this but getting the dynamics right in this chapter was crucial… not to mention writing exposition can be REALLY tough.

But this is a very important chapter too and I hope it was worth your wait.

Thanks for your patience.

P.S. There's a lot more murder case stuff in this chapter then there has been in previous ones. I just felt it deserved a really great conclusion. But in saying that it's not the ENTIRE focus of this story so please excuse any plot holes.

P.P.S. Wanna know a secret? … I'm Batman! Shhhh! :D

#

**_Previously… _**

**_"Kate." Castle called out to her. Beckett froze in surprise at his use of her first name. With her heart racing in her chest for reasons she didn't quite understand, Beckett once again turned back to face him. And before she knew what was happening Castle walked up and put his arms around her, pulling her into a warm and gentle hug. Beckett was too stunned to move._**

**_"Thank you." He whispered quietly to her, his genuine and touching words flowing through her, allowing her to relax into his embrace, her arms finding their own way around him. It was only a few moments before they both withdrew from each other, but as Beckett finally made her way towards the exit she couldn't stop the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth._**

**_TBC…_**

#

"So what have we got?" Beckett asked her boys as she exited the break room with her third cup of coffee for the day, instinctively dodging other detectives and officers hustling through the precinct at the midday hour.

"Well I was thinking of who might have helped our victim stash away all that money," Esposito began as he stood up from his desk,

"So I went back through the list of friends and family and I saw that her brother-in-law graduated from NYU with a degree in accounting."

"I thought he was a landscape architect?" Beckett queried, slightly confused.

"He is. He was working for a large consulting firm for two years before he changed his career, got married and moved to the suburbs. " Esposito clarified.

"So she could've gone to him for help..." Beckett finished the though.

"Except the victim and her sister haven't spoken to each other for over 10 years." Ryan piped up.

"Still I'd like you to go through both their phone records and emails to check if they've been in contact in the last few months." Beckett requested as she walked over to her desk and slid her jacket from the back of her chair.

"Call me if you find anything." She said, heading out of bullpen towards the elevator.

"Say hi to Alexis for us." Ryan called out to Beckett as she left.

#

The drive into the hospital grounds that afternoon was in stark contrast to her previous visit only eight hours before. Instead of having to slowly edge the car through a media circus to get to the emergency department, the footpath and grassy areas were empty, said for the occasional empty coffee cup littering the ground. It clearly hadn't taken the reporters and cameraman long to move on to another breaking story. Flashing her badge at the same nurse who had occupied the desk that morning, the door to the ward was immediately opened for Beckett. At the end of the corridor, Beckett paused briefly before knocking softly on the door of Alexis' room, pushing it open gently and peering inside to check if she was sleeping. But when she saw the young red head sitting up in bed reading, Beckett opened the door all the way and stepped inside the room.

"Detective Beckett!" Alexis greeted her with a warm smile.

"Hey, just thought I'd stop by to see how you're doing," Beckett replied as she walked over to the bed, "And I brought you something." She added with a smile, handing over a small, white paper bag that she had bought with her.

"Thank you." Alexis gratefully accepted the gift, eagerly opening the top of the bag before peering inside.

"Butterscotch white macadamia cookies!" She squealed in delight. Beckett smiled,

"Your dad said they're your favourite." Beckett said before a low murmur interrupted their conversation. Beckett looked up and across the room only to see Castle curled up on the couch under a blanket sleeping.

"He refused to go home so I finally managed to convince him to get some sleep. Grams just left to go home and bring us both back some clean clothes." Alexis explained. Beckett smiled to herself as her eyes briefly scanned over his peaceful face and dishevelled hair, allowing herself just a brief moment to admit to herself how adorable he looked.

"So, how are you feeling?" Beckett asked, turning her attention back to the young woman.

"I'm doing okay," Alexis said tiredly, "the doctor says that I'll probably be released tomorrow."

"That's good." Beckett responded in relief.

"Well I should leave you to get some rest." She added after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "Ryan and Esposito also wanted me to tell you to get better soon."

"Thanks, and thank you for coming Detective Beckett." Alexis replied sincerely. After a brief pause Kate smiled warmly back at her and said,

"Call me Kate."

#

Two days later Beckett and Esposito were standing in the observation room watching their suspect through the one-way mirror. The victim's estranged sister, a tall, thin and well-dressed Caucasian woman in her early 40's sat at the interrogation room table. Her arms were crossed loosely over her chest, her right heel tapping the floor impatiently whilst her facial expression read indignant boredom, like she had better things to do with her time then be a murder suspect.

"I got the subpoena's back on our victim's and brother-in-law's home and work computers." Esposito informed Beckett before continuing,

"Turns out that our brother-in-law had a separate email account that he only used at work to email someone named Alicia Holmes. But when I traced the ISP address of the emails sent from that account it came back to an internet café just two blocks from our victim's hotel."

"Did you talk to the manager at the internet café?" Beckett asked.

"Oh yeah. Got security camera footage of our victim entering the internet café only minutes before each of the emails were sent. And tech also gave us print outs of all the emails sent between the two accounts." Esposito said, handing over a small stack of paper he had been holding,

"Looks like our victim offered the brother-in-law $20,000 in return for his help hiding the money. Apparently he needed it to pay overdue medical bills from his wife's stay in the hospital last year." Beckett glanced over the papers in her hand but barely had to the opportunity to absorb their contents before Ryan made his entrance.

"I finally got in contact with the brother-in-law's business partner. He said that two days before the murder he remembers walking in on our suspect in her husband's office using his computer while he was out on a job." Ryan began, referring to the open file in his hand,

"When he asked her what she was doing she said that the internet connection at their house wasn't working and she just stopped in to check her emails. But when the business partner offered to come over and look at the internet on his way home from work she got flustered, insisted that it wasn't a big deal and that she'd call technical support when she got home." Beckett and Esposito shared a knowing glance at this telling revelation.

"Now he thought it was kind of odd at the time and was planning to mention it to his partner but got side-tracked with work and forgot about it." Ryan added briefly.

"So our suspect could've seen the emails between her husband and the victim." Beckett surmised as Ryan handed her the file.

"But how did she know who he was talking to? The victim set up the email account under a fake name." Esposito thought aloud.

"Let's ask her." Beckett declared.

#

"Why am I here Detective?" The suspect demanded in irritation as Beckett entered the interrogation room, "I already told you everything I know."

"Mrs Bennett, you've waved your right to have an attorney present?" Beckett asked as she took a seat at the table across from the suspect, placing the files down in front of her.

"I don't need a lawyer. I didn't do anything wrong." She stated confidently, clearly attempting to prove her superiority over the detective right from the beginning.

"Mrs Bennett, why did you visit your husband's workplace last Friday?" Beckett enquired. The suspect's cocky smile faltered slightly at the question, but she recovered quickly.

"As my husband's business partner probably told you, our internet connection at home wasn't working so I decided to drop in briefly on my way to my hair appointment to check my email." She explained, trying to maintain a calm and casual demeanour. Beckett didn't reply straight away, instead opening the file on the table and pulling out one of the papers.

"Was that when you saw this?" Beckett asked as she placed the paper down in front of the suspect. The woman's eyes briefly dropped down to look at the information in front of her before quickly looking up again.

"I have never seen this before." She insisted, her voice faltering slightly under the weight of the lie.

"Really? Because we have the records from your husband's work computer, and it shows that this email account was accessed at 10:47am, the same time you were there." Beckett explained, pausing to allow this information to sink in.

"So when did you suspect your husband was having an affair?" Beckett asked seemingly from out of left field. The suspect clenched her jaw, letting out a deep sigh of resignation.

"After I heard about my sister's theft of millions of dollars of other people's money I noticed my husband started acting differently. He spent more hours at work, and whenever I brought up her name he'd act nervous and refused to talk about her. So when I went to his office to try and find some evidence to use when I divorced him, I found that email address." She detailed angrily.

"How did you know it was your sister your husband was emailing?" Beckett prompted her to continue her story. The suspect snorted in derision,

"My sister thought she was being so clever using a fake name. She didn't think that I'd remember the name of the head cheerleader of her graduating class that got knocked up a month before graduation." She snarled with contempt, her anger continuing to overflow,

"And when I saw those emails about the money I realised that my no-good rat of a husband was leaving me for my bitch of a sister. They were going to run away together with all those millions of dollars and leave me with nothing! And there was no way I was gonna let her destroy my life!"

Beckett waited silently for a few moments as the suspect slowly deflated under the realisation of what she had just done.

"Mrs Bennett, your husband wasn't having an affair with your sister," Beckett revealed as she returned the piece of paper to the file, "he was helping her hide the money she stole in return for $20,000 to pay off your medical bills." She said, turning and exiting the interrogation room to give their suspect time to contemplate the ramifications of her mis-guided actions.

TBC…

Finally! Done! Damn this was a tough chapter.

But the good news is next chapter there's nothing but Castle/Beckett/Alexis goodness! And I know you want that! :D

So please review and let me know how much you want Castle/Beckett/Alexis goodness :D

Foghorn_clj87


End file.
